1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to concrete aggregates, and more particularly to light weight aggregates incorporating plastic scrap as a constituent material thereof. The principal application of the invention is in concrete for building structures which utilize light weight concrete as building materials. The invention can be used as a building material for special structures which have need of the unique properties of the novel aggregate. Illustratively, floating structures, shock absorbing structures, acoustic and temperature insulating bodies, and blast attenuation bodies can utilize the novel aggregate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Aggregates have long been utilized in the production of concrete for buildings, roads, bridges, sidewalks, and many other static structures. Concrete possesses high compressive strength, which is desirable for load bearing applications in buildings. However, concrete compositions offering the highest compressive strengths have the drawback that they are quite dense. Light weight compositions have been developed, but these usually exhibit commensurate decreases in compressive strength.
A modern trend is that of recycling scrap materials, particularly with regard to bulk building materials. This approach simultaneously solves two problems, those of providing building materials and of disposing of wastes. Plastic scraps in particular have received attention as potential constituent materials of bulk building materials. This is in part because plastics are very slow to decompose, and have a tendency to be disposed of in landfills. Some plastics are recycled for reuse, but this requires maintaining purity. Sorting methods are inadequate to the task of recovering and separating waste plastics in usable qualities and quantities.
The prior art has proposed disposal of scrap or waste plastics as constituents of building materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,199, issued to Gary M. Fishback et al. on Dec. 30, 1997, describes an asphaltic composition utilizing scrap plastics which do not have to be sorted. Plastic particles are treated, an exemplary method being exposure to heat in an oxygen deficient, reducing atmosphere, to render plastic particles more compatible with the asphaltic binder. The present invention uses cementitious rather than asphaltic binders, and further coats plastic particles with sand. The latter step is not employed in Fishback et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,879,601, issued to Richard David Baker on Mar. 9, 1999, describes an aggregate employing recycled plastic scrap in the form of particles or shreds. The binder utilized by Baker is a binary composition including a plastic resin and a catalyst which effects curing. By contrast, the present invention utilizes pozzolanic or cementitious binders, such as portland cement. Also, recycled plastic particles incorporated into the aggregate in the present invention are impregnated with sand. This feature is absent in the aggregate of Baker.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,895, issued to Matti Toivola on Oct. 14, 1997, describes an aggregate including recycled plastic scrap and minerals. Toivola subjects mixed scrap and minerals to elevated pressures. The present invention does not require pressure. Rather, the present invention utilizes cementitious binders. Also, although Toivola could possibly utilize sand as a mineral constituent, he does not coat plastic particles with sand, as occurs in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,419, issued to Paul A. McKelvey on Jul. 28, 1998, describes an aggregate which incorporates pozzolans, such as portland cement and fly ash, together with cellulosic fibers. McKelvey does not employ plastic scrap as a constituent material. By contrast, the present invention includes plastic scrap. In a novel step absent in McKelvey, the plastic is impregnated with sand.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,936,015, issued to Bernard J. Burns on Aug. 10, 1999, sets forth an asphaltic composition which utilizes recycled rubber, such as from tires, and polyoctenamer, which is a polymerization agent. By contrast, the present invention utilizes cementitious binders rather than asphaltic binders, as seen in Burns. There is no polymerization agent such as polyoctenamer utilized in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,051, issued to John P. Sawyers on Jun. 6, 1995, discloses an aggregate of recycled plastic, particulated and mixed with portland cement and sand/gravel fillers to produce a lighter weight concrete. Sawyers teaches no special treatment of the plastics other than shredding or pulverizing to a particulated form. The present invention, by contrast, imbeds sand into the particulated plastic to provide increased bonding between the plastics and the portland cement binder.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The present invention sets forth a novel aggregate which incorporates plastic scraps which may be substituted for mineral aggregates in cementitious concrete. The plastic scrap may be unsorted or unclassified waste of diverse types. This is a very useful feature, since plastics which are currently discarded in landfills due to their inability to be sorted and separated can readily be utilized in bulk to form the novel aggregate. Doing this will greatly decrease the burden currently imposed on waste landfill facilities. In particular, this will decrease the amount of materials which are most resistant to natural decomposition in landfills. Capacity and useful life of landfills will therefore be extended.
It has long been assumed that adding plastic scrap to building materials will lower the density thereof, with minimal degradation of material strength. However, this has remained an elusive goal since successful union of plastic with cementitious binders has proved failure prone. Interface between plastic and cementitious surfaces does not result in bonding. If not securely bonded, divisions, splits, cracks, and other structural discontinuities promote greatly reduced strength if not complete failure. Also, plastic particles tend to rise when the concrete is in a plastic or fluid state prior to curing. The present invention provides methods of effecting successful union between plastics and cementitious materials to overcome failure.
The resultant concrete is quite light, having densities on the order of half those of traditional concrete. Although slightly reduced, compressive strength does not suffer a commensurate decline. Only the most demanding load bearing applications cannot be satisfied by the novel aggregate. Inclusion of plastics increases properties of resilience, acoustic and thermal insulation, vibration, shock and explosion resistance, weathering and chemical deterioration, in addition to reduced density. The novel aggregate is therefore useful for protective outer coverings as well as for traditional uses.
Testing has shown that when PVC is used, a fire retardant/ suppressant wall is created. As the PVC is heated by a fire, it xe2x80x9coff gassesxe2x80x9d chlorine gas retarding the spread of fire on the surface and suppressing flames within the structure.
Plastic scrap particles are impregnated with sand to improve adhesion of the cementitious binder. This can be accomplished by heating the plastic, the sand or both. Heat softens the surface of the plastic, thereby allowing sand to penetrate the plastic and become embedded therein. Sand impregnated plastic particles exhibit superior adhesion to cementitious binders, as compared with non-impregnated plastics. Separation of plastic and cementitious interfaces is avoided, and plastic particles are entrapped within and bonded to fluid cementitious aggregates prior to curing. The plastic particles thus avoid rising or floating when the concrete is in the fluid or plastic state. Bonding remains effective after curing, so that the resultant cured aggregate exhibits combined advantages of concrete and plastic particle inclusions.
Concretes incorporating the novel aggregates, prior to curing, are susceptible to being formed and to being reinforced. One method of reinforcement is to add into the mix adhesives which will cause adjacent particles of plastic of the inventive aggregate to bond together to establish an internal frame or skeleton, thereby increasing tensile strength of the cured concrete. White glue (PVA) and methylethyl ketone are examples of such materials.
If desired, density of the aggregate can be reduced by inducing bubbling or foaming. This is accomplished by incorporating plastic wastes which generate gasses at temperatures attained during heating for the purpose of impregnating plastic particles with sand. Polyvinyl chloride plastics are among those which exhibit gas discharges when heated. Aggregates of lower density produced by inducing gas formation provide further enhanced acoustic and temperature insulation, and shock and impact absorption. Voids created by gas bubbles can also be used to impregnate the aggregate with materials which perform a specific auxiliary function. Illustratively, aggregates impregnated with absorbent clay could be utilized to build aquatic structures having the capability of absorbing chemical spills.
Accordingly, it is one object of the invention to provide strong, low density concrete aggregates.
It is another object of the invention to improve properties of resilience, acoustic and thermal insulation, vibration, shock and explosion resistance, weathering and chemical deterioration of concrete through inclusion of the inventive aggregate.
It is a further object of the invention to recycle plastic wastes, thereby removing the wastes from landfills.
Still another object of the invention is to overcome propensity of plastic materials to fail to bond to cementitious binders.
An additional object of the invention is to provide concrete aggregates incorporating plastic waste materials as structural constituents.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide concrete a aggregates which serve as a fire retardant/suppressant.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.